[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 194 (Wednesday, November 29, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7478-S7479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1652. Mr. BROWN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 1, to provide for reconciliation pursuant to
titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal
year 2018; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. IMPOSITION OF EXCISE TAX ON CORPORATIONS WITH LOW-
WAGE EMPLOYEES.
(a) In General.--Subtitle D is amended by adding after
chapter 36 the following new chapter:
``CHAPTER 37--CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY TAX
``Sec. 4511. Imposition of tax.
``SEC. 4511. IMPOSITION OF TAX.
``(a) In General.--In the case of an applicable employer
who employs a low-wage employee during the calendar year,
there is imposed a tax equal to the applicable percentage of
the aggregate amount of wages paid by the applicable employer
with respect to employment of all employees of the employer
during the calendar year.
``(b) Applicable Employer; Low-Wage Employee.--For purposes
of this section--
``(1) Applicable employer.--
``(A) In general.--The term `applicable employer' means,
with respect to any calendar year, any employer who was
required to make deposits of taxes under chapters 21 and 24
(or who would have been required to make such deposits if the
rules of subparagraph (C) applied for such purposes) by the
close of the next day for periods aggregating more than 180
days during the preceding calendar year.
``(B) Exception.--Such term shall not include a Federal or
other governmental entity or a church or qualified church
organization (as such terms are defined in section
3121(w)(3)).
``(C) Aggregation rules.--The rules of subsections (b),
(c), (m), and (o) of section 414 shall apply for purposes of
this section, except that in applying subsections (b) and (c)
of such section, the phrase `more than 50 percent' shall be
substituted for the phrase `more than 80 percent' each place
it appears.
``(2) Low-wage employee.--
``(A) In general.--The term `low-wage employee' means any
employee who receives wages from an applicable employer
during the calendar year in an amount less than 218 percent
of the Federal poverty line (within the meaning of section
2110(c)(5) of the Social Security Act) for an individual.
Rules similar to the rules of section 36B(d)(3)(B) shall
apply for purposes of this subparagraph.
``(B) Employees employed for less than entire year.--In the
case of any employee employed by an applicable taxpayer for
less than the entire calendar year, the amount
[[Page S7479]]
described in subparagraph (A) shall be reduced by an amount
which bears the same ratio to such amount as--
``(i) the number of weeks during the calendar year in which
such individual was not an employee of such applicable
employer, bears to
``(ii) 52.
``(c) Applicable Percentage.--For purposes of subsection
(a)--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Determination.--The applicable percentage shall be
determined as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``In the case of an applicable employer with a low-wage The applicable
employee ratio of: percentage is:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
25% or less............................................. 25%
Greater than 25% but not greater than 50%............... 50%
Greater than 50%, but not greater than 75%.............. 75%
Greater than 75%........................................ 100%.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``(B) Low-wage employee ratio.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), the low-wage employee ratio with respect to
any applicable employer is the ratio (expressed as a
percentage) of--
``(i) the number of low-wage employees employed by the
applicable employer during the calendar year, to
``(ii) the total number of individuals employed by the
applicable employer during such calendar year.
``(2) Health and retirement offset.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of an applicable employer
who meets the requirements of subparagraph (B), the
applicable percentage shall be reduced (but not below zero)
by 25 percentage points.
``(B) Requirements.--An applicable employer meets the
requirements of this subparagraph if such applicable
employer--
``(i) offers to all full-time low-wage employees (and their
spouse and dependents) the opportunity to enroll for all
months during the calendar year in minimum essential coverage
under an eligible employer sponsored health plan (as defined
in section 5000A(f)(2)) for which--
``(I) the plan's share of the allowed costs of benefits
provided under the plan is not less than 60 percent of such
costs, and
``(II) the required contribution (within the meaning of
section 5000A(e)(1)(B)) of the employee does not exceed the
applicable percentage of the annual wages paid to the
employee by the applicable employer, and
``(ii) meets the retirement plan requirements of subsection
(d) for all employees who are low-wage employees.
For purposes of clause (i)(II), the applicable percentage is
the percentage in effect under section 36B(c)(2)(B)(II) for
the plan year.
``(d) Retirement Plan Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--The requirements of this subsection are
met for any calendar year with respect to an employee of the
applicable employer who is a low-wage employee if the
employee is eligible to participate in one or more applicable
eligible retirement plans maintained by the applicable
employer (or any member of the group of employers treated as
an applicable employer under subsection (b)(1)(C)) for a plan
year ending with or within the calendar year.
``(2) Applicable eligible retirement plan.--For purposes of
this subsection, the term `applicable eligible retirement
plan' means an eligible retirement plan which, with respect
to the plan year described in paragraph (1), is either--
``(A) a defined contribution plan which requires the
employer to make nonelective contributions of at least 5
percent of the compensation of the employee, or
``(B) a defined benefit plan--
``(i) with respect to which the accrued benefit of the
employee derived from employer contributions, when expressed
as an annual retirement benefit, is not less than the product
of--
``(I) the lesser of 2 percent multiplied by the employee's
years of service (determined under the rules of paragraphs
(4), (5), and (6) of section 411(a)) with the employer or 20
percent, multiplied by
``(II) the employee's final average pay, or
``(ii) which is an applicable defined benefit plan (as
defined in section 411(a)(13)(B))--
``(I) which meets the interest credit requirements of
section 411(b)(5)(B)(i) with respect to the plan year, and
``(II) under which the employee receives a pay credit for
the plan year which is not less than 5 percent of
compensation.
``(3) Definitions and special rules.--For purposes of this
subsection--
``(A) Eligible retirement plan.--The term `eligible
retirement plan' has the meaning given such term by section
402(c)(8)(B), except that in the case of an account or
annuity described in clause (i) or (ii) thereof, such term
shall only include an account or annuity which is a
simplified employee pension (as defined in section 408(k)).
``(B) Final average pay.--For purposes of paragraph
(2)(B)(i)(II), final average pay shall be determined using
the period of consecutive years (not exceeding 5) during
which the employee had the greatest compensation from the
applicable employer.
``(C) Alternative plan designs.--The Secretary may
prescribe regulations for an applicable employer to meet the
requirements of this subsection through a combination of
defined contribution plans or defined benefit plans described
in paragraph (1) or through a combination of both such types
of plans.
``(D) Plans must meet requirements without taking into
account social security and similar contributions and
benefits.--A rule similar to the rule of section 416(e) shall
apply.
``(E) Certain employees may be excluded.--For purposes of
paragraph (2)(B)(ii), an employer shall not be treated as
failing to meet the requirements of this subsection with
respect to employees--
``(i) who have not attained the age of 21 before the close
of a plan year,
``(ii) who have less than 1 year of service with the
employer as of any day during the plan year,
``(iii) who are covered under an agreement which the
Secretary of Labor finds to be a collective bargaining
agreement if there is evidence that the benefits covered
under the plan were the subject of good faith bargaining
between employee representatives and the employer, or
``(iv) who are described in section 410(b)(3)(C) (relating
to nonresident aliens working outside the United States).
``(e) Definitions and Special Rules.--For purposes of this
section--
``(1) Wages.--The term `wages' has the meaning given such
term by section 3121(a) (determined without regard to any
dollar limitation contained in such section).
``(2) Allocation of tax.--The Secretary shall prescribe
such rules as necessary for the allocation of the tax imposed
by subsection (a) among different entities treated as a
single employer under subsection (b)(1)(C).''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after
the item relating to chapter 36 the following new item:
``Chapter 37--Corporate Responsibility Tax''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to calendar years beginning after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
______